I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 241 Pressure
"We are the royal group! We want the common people to feel the kindness of the royal family, and we want the ruffians and tax collectors to feel the power of the royal family. Beat them hard for me, and the consequences will be my fault if they are killed or injured," Zhu Houxuan said contemptuously.

"As for those nobles, don't worry about them for now. None of the nobles in the capital are stupid. They only dare to use the Five Military Commandery to make some small moves. When the situation is unclear or Your Majesty has not made a clear statement, they dare not make any big moves." Zhu Houxuan continued.

"Yes, sir!" Wu Liangshan said immediately.

"The various princely palaces in the north, including the King of Zhou, the King of Heng, the King of Dai, etc. have sent envoys to request to see Your Highness." Chen Hong said.

Zhu Houxuan hesitated for a moment and said, "I will take care of this matter. Treat the envoys well and I will find time to summon them as soon as possible."

Zhu Houxun had to personally fool the clan members, or rather do the work personally, and he couldn't let them feel neglected.

"There have been a lot of disputes over land along the railway. Many people who had sold us the land suddenly refused to honour their promise and kept demanding the land back. Some people even ran onto the tracks to stop trains. Some tracks were damaged. We asked the local authorities to handle the matter, but they were ambiguous and uncooperative, and just kept dragging their feet," said Jiang Jianyuan from the Ministry of Railways.

"First, fight back hard and let them have a taste of the iron fist of the Royal Group. I will consider sending the new army to the railway to maintain order later. Before that, you have to hold on first." Zhu Houxuan said. He did not want to send the new army to the railway to maintain order too early. Once the new army was sent out, it would be equivalent to Zhu Houzhao's attitude. He also wanted to let the salt merchants jump around for a while to build up momentum.
"We can definitely hold on. The guys in the Ministry of Railways are no pushovers. We will definitely kill them!" Jiang Jianyuan said, patting his chest.

Jiang Jianyuan's words made the atmosphere in the conference room a little more relaxed.

"A lot of workers have suddenly resigned from various factories recently. It is confirmed that it is due to the influence of various clans. Some clans are blocking the factory gates to demand people. The female workers in the textile factories are especially under great pressure," Jin Tong said after a moment of hesitation.

Zhu Houxuan was somewhat helpless about this. The clan was the most basic organization in the Ming Dynasty society and its organization level was relatively high. They always used kinship and clan rules as a bond to control a person. Many workers of the Royal Group came from clans. In the traditional society of the Ming Dynasty, it took a lot of courage to cut off the control of the clan. Zhu Houxuan had no good solution for this. He had encountered similar things in Qizhou many times.

Zhu Houxuan really didn't expect that the salt merchants would actually incite the clans near Tangshan. "Let's deal with it according to the experience of Qizhou first." Zhu Houxuan said helplessly.

Jin Tong nodded silently.

"The newly built salt-drying factory in Changlu Salt Field has attracted a lot of attention recently. The Salt Industry Department has arrested a lot of people recently, including some desperate criminals. Some of our people were injured, but they were not able to break through our guard," said Jiang Jianye from the Salt Industry Department.

"Keep calm!" Zhu Houxuan said simply.

Jiang Jianye also nodded.

"Are there any difficulties now?" Zhu Houxuan turned around and asked.

"The railway has now been built to the Yellow River, and Zhengzhou is on the other side. The Yellow River has greatly affected our transportation and the efficiency of railway construction. We have built 15 floating bridges on the Yellow River, and we have hired all the horse caravans that can be hired in Henan. Although the transportation efficiency is not as good as that of the railway, it can still complete the transportation task. The same is true for Shanxi. There are too many mountains. The railway can be built there, but the horse caravan cannot, and we still have to rely on the horse caravan," said Jiang Jianyuan.

"We must complete the transportation mission at all costs. We must destroy the old salt market in the four northern provinces at one go." Zhu Houxuan said firmly. "Yes!" Everyone stood up.

"The Channel Department please report the current situation!" Zhu Houxuan said.

"According to the data we have received so far, the Channel Department has sold more than 310 million kilograms of sea salt in the past month and a half. All of it was purchased by local tycoons, and only a small portion of it flowed into the hands of ordinary people. The sales amount was more than 6.2 million taels of silver, but in the fourth round of sales, statistics show that only 70% of the local tycoons were willing to buy it. If a fifth round of sales is to be carried out, this data will drop significantly," said Liu Hua from the Channel Department.

"It seems that they have come to their senses," Zhu Houxuan said with a smile, "There is not much point in carrying out the fifth round of sales. I don't think we can get much money back. I think the time is ripe for the second step of the plan!"

Zhu Houxuan looked around at everyone and they all nodded.

"Judging from the current transportation volume, the salt transported by rail and canal to various parts of the four northern provinces can already meet the needs of the second step of the plan," Jiang Jianyuan said, raising his hand.

Zhu Houxuan looked at the map on the wall again, then turned around abruptly, "Now I give the order!"

Everyone in the conference room stood up and looked at Zhu Houxuan excitedly.

"The second step of the operation will be implemented starting today!"

"Yes!"

He Kui in Shunde Prefecture was a little confused about the various orders from the headquarters recently. The salt at 20 wen per pound was taken away by the big families, but the common people could not buy much. He didn't understand it, but even though he didn't understand it, he still carried out the orders resolutely.

So far, he has sold a total of 13 million kilograms of salt to the gentlemen in Shunde City, and the silver he earned from the sales has been transported to the headquarters. Many of the silver is still in the shape of silver winter melons, with some soil hanging on it. At a glance, you can tell that it was just dug out from the cellar.
At this moment, Xiao Zhang, the messenger, appeared again. He brought new orders and was accompanied by a colleague from the Ministry of Railways.

He Kui immediately became alert after reading the order. He immediately asked the store clerks to notify the store managers in other counties of Shunde Prefecture.

They took the hired caravan to a secret warehouse far away from Shunde City, where a large amount of salt was stored. The caravan drove the carts to transport the salt to various counties.
This time, He Kui did not go to inform Mr. Shen, but solemnly wrote on a piece of paper: Changlu salt is ten cents per pound!
After finishing writing, he admired his own handwriting. Although the handwriting was a bit ugly, the message it conveyed was very beautiful.
Then he put the paper on the door of the store without hesitation.
Naturally, these actions could not be hidden from the masters who were keeping a close eye on the branch. They had gathered together because of the unusual movement of a large amount of sea salt, but before they could come to any conclusion, even more explosive news was passed on by the servants.

"Is it really written above that it's ten cents per pound?" Master Shen lost all his composure and said angrily, grabbing the collar of the servant who delivered the message.

After receiving the affirmative answer from the servant, Master Shen sat down dejectedly. He and the people present gradually came to their senses, and then they felt a huge pressure.
(End of this chapter)